Reviews "The Market Approach to Education: An Analysis of America's First Voucher Program" (John Witte), which examines the Milwaukee Parent Choice Program (MPCP) and describes school voucher politics that have focused significant national attention on the MPCP since its inception. Suggests that the book understates the inadequacies of…

Links family income, ethnicity, and child's age to child care characteristics. Finds that children from families with incomes at least twice the poverty threshold were more likely than others to be in nonparental care and spent more hours in care. Ethnicity, not poverty, related to relative-care use. Few income, ethnicity, or age differences…

Addresses how poverty information is packaged as the intersection of class, race, and gender and how this depiction has changed from the 1980s to the early 1990s using a sample of 45 introductory sociology textbooks. Discusses the implications of and strategies for overcoming the conventional topic-chapter format of textbooks. (CMK)

The superintendent of schools in Providence, Rhode Island reflects on her own personal odyssey, asserting that society must expect more from poor and minority children. She discusses areas for focused effort, such as literacy. (EV)

The head of the largest community college in the United States, Miami-Dade Community College, warns that the ebbing of need-based financial aid threatens the efforts of the poor and minorities to gain a postsecondary education. (EV)

Used National Maternal and Infant Health Survey data to examine effects of poverty and maternal depression on child development. Found that maternal depression and poverty jeopardized development of very young children. Affluence somewhat buffered the deleterious consequences of depression. Chronic maternal depression had severe implications for…

This article describes the process of developing an empowerment approach in a comprehensive child development program that defined its mission as empowerment of families living in poverty. Findings concerning empowerment are presented in two areas: resolution of contrasts and dichotomies, and lessons learned for program effectiveness. (Author)

Examines consequences of family poverty for child development, noting evidence that deep or persistent poverty early in childhood adversely affects children's ability and achievement. Argues that although the 1996 welfare reforms spurred many welfare-to-work transitions, their time limits and sanctions are likely to deepen poverty among some…

Provides percentages of public schools and instructional rooms with access to the Internet. Between fall 1994 and fall 1998, access to the Internet in public schools increased to 89%. Schools with a high student poverty level were less likely to have Internet access than schools with low student poverty. (Author/SLD)

Two developers of the Talent Development Middle School model discuss 10 lessons from implementing, refining, and evaluating this model in 5 high-poverty middle schools in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and describe obstacles encountered and breakthroughs experienced in developing the knowledge base, materials, and infrastructure of the model. (SLD)

In August 1999, Allendale County (South Carolina) Schools were taken over by the state. The rural school district, which is remote, poor, and racially segregated, has consistently had the worst test scores in the state, and little was being done to improve the situation. The district's problems and beginning efforts to address them are described.…

Two University of Missouri researchers say much econometric research on the money/achievement connection is deeply flawed. Data from the "School District Data Book" and Second International Mathematics Study show that money's impact is enormous. In other research, principals' high expectations are pivotal, and children's drawings are…

Examines success in adjusting domestic laws in Latin America to standards set forth in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Maintains that there has not been comparable improvement in service provision to poor children, due to structural constraints limiting the pace of reforms. Provides historical clues for understanding current challenges…

Preschool children (N=38) from low-income households enrolled in Head Start were evaluated for written language awareness. Analysis indicated significant gaps in print, word, graphic, and metalinguistic awareness. Lowest performance was found in children's ability to identify contextualized print within illustrations and their understanding of the…

Presents a study that took place in an inner-city neighborhood school populated mainly by African American students characterized by poverty. Explores the discourse and practices of students and three co-teachers as a curriculum was enacted to provide opportunities for students to learn about the physics of motion through designing, building, and…